[4 Fixes] How to Recover A Corrupted Word File?

It’s frustrating when you encounter issues like error messages, messed-up formatting, Word not responding, unreadable characters, or, worst of all, an inaccessible document. This usually means you’ll need to recover a corrupted Word file, which can be a difficult task. Fortunately, Microsoft Word has a built-in repair tool to help recover lost information and fix corrupted files. If that doesn’t work, there are other ways to troubleshoot and recover your documents.

Why do Word files become corrupted? This may be due to several reasons. Viruses are a common reasons, as malware can damage files and make them unreadable. Besides, hardware issues, such as failing hard drives or outdated components, can also disrupt file integrity. Unexpected Windows updates may interfere with open files. System crashes are another risk, often caused by running too many programs at once. Finally, forgetting to save your work may also be one of the major factors.

How to recover a corrupted Word file on Windows PCs?

Based on the causes of a corrupted Word file, you can use four methods to recover it. You can use professional data recovery software to handle complex data loss situations, repair the damaged file online, or recover it directly in Word.

Method 1. Use AOMEI FastRecovery

To recover a corrupted Word file caused by viruses or malware, it is recommended to use professional data recovery software such as AOMEI FastRecovery. This reliable tool can also help recover a Word doc that was not saved,  When dealing with complex data loss scenarios—for example, accidentally formatting a disk without backups, permanently deleting important files, or experiencing system crashes that result in data loss—this software can easily restore your files. In addition to recovering Word documents, it can also fix issues like Excel file disappeared after saving, recover previous versions of PowerPoint files, and recover deleted items in Office 365.

There are more details about AOMEI FastRecovery:

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI FastRecovery. Choose the exact partition or disk where your data lost and click Scan.

Step 2. Then, the recovery tool start to scan and search. lt will execute the “Quickly Scan" first for finding your deleted data fast, and then execute the “Deep Scan" for searching other lost data.

Step 3. Once the scan is completed, all deleted files, recycle bins and other missing files will be displayed. Please select the file you would like to recover and then click "Recover".

Step 4. Then, select a folder path to save your recovered files.

Step 5. Wait patiently for this process of recovering ends.

Method 2. Restore a corrupted Word file from AutoRecover

If you didn’t save a Word document, it might become incomplete or corrupted. However, you can try to recover it using AutoSave (.asd) files. To recover unsaved documents, AutoSave must be turned on beforehand. If this feature is enabled, you can find and recover unsaved files easily.

Step 1. Find the file saving path (e.g.: C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\UnsavedFiles).

Step 2. Here, copy the file name of the Word document you want to recover.

Step 3. Open your Microsoft Word, click "File". Then, click "Manage Document" and select "Recover Unsaved Documents" from the drop-down list. Please paste the copied file into the file name column and click "Open".

Manual active the AutoRecover: Click “File” > “Options” > “Save”. Then tick “Save AutoRecover information every x minutes” > “Keep the last autosaved version if I close without saving” > “OK”.

✨How to enable AutoRecover and AutoSave features in Word: Please go to File > Options > Save and ensure that the "Save AutoRecover information every X minutes" and "Keep the last AutoRecovered version if I close without saving" options are checked.
For Office 365 users, AutoSave can be enabled by clicking the AutoSave toggle in the top-left corner of the Word window if you are working on a document stored in OneDrive or SharePoint.

Method 3. Repair the corrupted Word file online

It is also a good idea to perform corrupted Word file recovery online to fix the issue. Recovery Toolbox is a great online tool for repairing corrupted or damaged Word files. Here is a step-by-step guide to help you repair Word files with this tool.

Step 1. Visit Recovery Toolbox's official page. Enter your email address and click "SELECT FILE" to upload the damaged Word files.

Step 2. Click "NEXT STEP" to proceed. Wait for the tool to repair your files; you can estimate the time required by checking the process bar.

Step 3. Once the repair is complete, you can preview the repaired files or download a demo.

Note: You can't use this online tool for free; it will charge you based on the size of your file or how hard it is to fix.

Method 4. Restore a corrupted Word file from Recent Work

How to recover a corrupt file in Word? MS Word automatically saves backup copies of your work as AutoSave files. You can restore your work by finding these files in the Document Recovery option. This feature is available if Word detects it was abruptly closed the next time you open the program.

Step 1. Open MS Word and see if you get the Document Recovery option.

Step 2. Go to the "File" menu.

Step 3. Select "Open" from the list on the left. And click on "Recent."

Look for your missing Word document in the list of recent documents. If you find it, click on it to open the file.

Summary

How to recover a corrupted Word file? We believe that the 4 methods can help you easily fix the issue. Actually, it is recommended to directly use AOMEI FastRecovery, the powerful data recovery software to recover the corrupted Word file, as it can also be helpful in restoring data from damaged documents.